Hyvin
A Natural Health and Wellness Blog

This seems like pretty big news to me: the same lifestyle choices that decrease your risk of heart disease and diabetes also decrease your risk of cancer! As if additional motivation was needed, that makes exercise, maintaining optimal weight, a healthy diet and nutritional support all that much more appealing.

Of course, high blood sugar levels increase the risk of diabetes and even heart disease. And now,Reuters Health reports on a study in the March 2007 issue of Diabetes Care that points specifically to an association between cancer and high blood sugar levels in non-diabetics.

Like I’ve said before, the body is a unit…what ails one part, is naturally prone to ail the rest. So, maybe the news isn’t all that “big” after all. Maybe I should call it exciting! – there is so much we can do to prevent degenerative disease!! Eat right. Get moving. Lose weight, if needed. And, for some additional help, we can even supplement with a natural blend of minerals, botanicals and antioxidants proven to help retain normal blood sugar levels!

Good News! There’s new license to eat strawberries, dark chocolate, red wine, apples, pears and the like . A study in the March 2007 edition of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition concludes that foods such as these rich in flavonoids may be linked to a reduction in heart disease risk. I’m certainly game to eat these foods with flavonoids, but I like the added assurance of daily flavonoid supplements to be sure I’m getting the beneficial levels.

Flavonoids are a class of water-soluble antioxidant compounds found in many plant-based foods and known to support capillary strength, cardiovascular health and circulation. According to the Reuters Health report of this study, it analyzed dietary patterns of postmenopausal women participating in the Iowa Women’s Health Study.

Here’s another one for the multiple health benefits of nutrients: Vitamin A consumption seems to be linked to a lower risk of stomach cancer, according to research published in the Feb. 2007 issue of American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. The Vitamin A can also be in its pre-cursor state of carotenoids for this to be true, according to the Reuters Health report of the study.

I understand why research needs to look at single nutrients and single disease states or health challenges. That’s not, of course, how the body functions, however. A smorgasbord of vitamins, minerals and fats (the good kind!) make up the raw material for the body to do everything it needs to do to maintain health. Which is why I believe so strongly in providing guaranteed sources of that smorgasbord through supplementation to be hyvin (well)!

My goal in maintaining this blog is to give you credible, helpful information in incorporating natural health and wellness approaches into your life. So, when a study comes along that is widely discredited, confusing and a piece of poor science, I’m reluctant to bring it to your attention.

I assume, though, that the recent Journal of the American Medical Association article concerning antioxidants and mortality rates will get a lot of attention from the popular media. Why? Because they love a good headline, whether or not it serves the public.

So – if you’ve seen press about the study and wondered about it, feel free to contact me for a thorough analysis of the study and its conclusions.

Research has demonstrated that zinc can play a life-saving role for children in the developing world. As reported in the March 17 issue of The Lancet, zinc supplementation reduced the rate of mortality and the cases of pneumonia, diarrhea and malaria. According to the HealthDay report of this research, zinc is believed to play an important role in healthy immune system function.

If zinc supplements can do that much for those with so many challenges to their immune function, I know I wouldn’t want to be without them for myself and my children!

From HealthDay News: “Even a short period of calcium and vitamin D supplementation can greatly reduce the risk of stress fractures (overuse injuries to the bone) in women, a U.S. study finds.” Conducted on female U.S. Navy recruits, the study found that 25 percent more of those getting placebos suffered stress fractures than the group taking the supplements and was reported in San Diego in February 2007 at the annual meeting of the Orthopedic Research Society.

Gonna’ join the armed forces, begin track and field workouts or otherwise increase bone usage in a big way? (spring is coming!) Take your calcium and Vitamin D supplements (the latter helps the body absorb the former, which is vital for bone formation and repair).

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released last week The State of Aging and Health in America 2007. The picture isn’t pretty. 80 percent of Americans 65 and older suffer from one chronic disease that could lead to premature death and disability (diabetes, heart disease, cancer, etc.), and a full half of seniors are burdened by two chronic illnesses.

Of course, the social ramifications of these statistics are horrendous. And then there are the financial consequences. The Reuters Health report of the research cited researchers as saying: “The cost of caring for aging Americans will add 25 percent to the nation’s health care bill by 2030 unless people act now to stay healthy”. An addition we can scarcely afford.

I’m glad to see that researchers are emphasizing healthier lifestyles and prevention as key in dealing with this situation, looking specifically at physical inactivity, poor nutrition, obesity and smoking. They seem like a good place to begin. There have been many studies linking these lifestyle choices to ill health, and more are being released all the time. Consider research in the February 2007 Journal of the American Geriatrics Society concluding that “Nursing home residents with Alzheimer’s disease who participate in a moderate exercise program have a significantly slower deterioration than those who receive routine medical care.” (Reuters Health)

These age-related declines are NOT inevitable! But we DO have to be responsible for our own health and wellness. That means making informed decisions about regular exercise, supplementation and healthy eating. Doctors do not make us well. We can often, though, impact our wellness by the choices we make. Yes, it takes time, effort and self-discipline. But isn’t it totally worth it?

Also in the Feb. 2007 edition of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society is a study which found that women between the ages of 72 and 85 with completely intact mental function were less likely to have health conditions like diabetes or high blood pressure (Reuters Health).

I certainly want to do all I can to live out my senior years with maximum function, both mental and physical, don’t you?

The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention just issued a report cataloging the deaths and illnesses of children under the age of 2 from taking over-the-counter cough and cold medications. According to the HealthDay News report of the study, researchers made two main points: (1) These are drugs and have risks, including the possibility of death in infants under two years of age; and (2) there is NO evidence that these meds, especially ones containing pseudoephedrine [a nasal decongestant] have any positive benefits for children under two.

Two good reasons, it seems to me, NOT to use over-the-counter cough and cold meds in little ones. I resort to drug intervention only as a last resort, but I have to admit, these formulas are so commonly used by the public, and seem innocuous. This report is an eye-opener for me.

So, what to do with an infant who is stuffed up, coughing and miserable? Time (the great healer) and a humidifier by the crib will help. You may also want to try some pure alfalfa tablets dissolved in warm water. Try dispensing the solution with a dropper. Alfalfa is a natural decongestant with side benefits not side effects.

Add a B to the alphabet line-up of nutrients that can help prevent Alzheimer’s Disease. (see earlier post about C and E) Recently reported in the Archives of Neurology is a study identifying folate, one of the B nutrients, as being linked to a reduced risk of Alzheimer’s. Researchers looked at folate (also called folic acid) both eaten in food (whole grains, leafy green vegetables) and taken in supplement form.

There is something particular to note about folate (or folic acid). As one of the B nutrients, it occurs with the other B’s that make up the complex but is a hard one to absorb because it tends to get bound up with the others in the matrix. Look for a supplement with a guaranteed delivery system.

What does affect our health as we age?

In short, graceful aging varies by genetics, diet, and lifestyle.

We typically think that aging is about 80% dependent on genetics. So there isn’t much we can do about it, right?

Well, the exact opposite is now understood to be the reality. From various sources, I’ve estimated that the concensus is more like genetics making up about 20% of how gracefully we age, and the other 80% of our long term health being a function of diet and lifestyle!

And even our diet and lifestyle as a child can affect that aging process decades later! (If you’re interested in resources for starting a child’s health down the right path, click here)

And if you’re already in the aging cycle of life, this recently published statement from the Journal of the American Medical Association is especially important:

People over the age of 60 absorb certain vitamins and minerals better from a supplement than from food.

Those diet and lifestyle pieces of the aging equation have to include a multi-vitamin/mineral. For one particularly designed for those fifty and older, click here.